“Callum is always on the edge of the team. As soon as there is an opportunity, he plays”

Gianfranco Zola

Zola said: “Callum is always on the edge of the team. As soon as there is an opportunity, he plays.

“Sometimes from the beginning. Sometimes he comes on.

“The manager is giving him plenty of reasons to feel involved and wanted. I want to stress this: there aren’t many 18-year-olds in Europe playing as many games as he is. There might be one or two. He’s playing.

“On top of that, he’s a player we appreciate and we believe is growing up.

Gianfranco Zola has told teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi he is lucky to get game time at Chelsea (Pic: GETTY)

“He has a bright future in this club. Maurizio likes him, the whole coaching group like him.

“People need to understand that he is surrounded by top players. You have to work hard to be better than them, and that’s what we want.

“We want him to play but also keep improving. He can still do better than he’s doing.”

Meanwhile David Luiz has revealed that Sarri has had a series of heart to hearts with his Chelsea stars to find out if they still believe in his methods.

The 31-year-old Brazilian said: “We have had many meetings already asking if someone doesn’t believe, they can say.

David Luiz has revealed Maurizio Sarri has had a heart-to-heart with his Chelsea players (Pic: GETTY)

“Nobody said anything. It’s because everyone believes.”

A recent dip if form, culminating in Sunday’s 6-0 humiliation at Manchester City has had the under-fire Blues boss blaming his players’ mentality rather than his philosophy.

Luiz added: “You have to have motivation already when you play for a big club. If you don’t have motivation to play for a big club, you cannot play.

“We have to be positive and think about what we can do now because the past is the past – we cannot change it. We have to do things that we can do now.”

The Stamford Bridge club, who are already facing a partial stadium closure after alleged anti-Semitic chanting by their fans, could be in more trouble after UEFA announced they were investigating missiles being thrown and a pitch invasion in Malmo.